He started his journalism career in 1992 as a freelance writer for Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany’s largest daily national newspaper and soon specialised in air transport. Jens joined Aviation Week and Aviation Daily in 2000 as one of the European correspondents. Later his role was expanded to cover international air transport. In 2013 he was named Managing Editor Commercial.
Jens frequently appears on radio and TV to comment on industry matters. In 2003, he received the Hugo Junkers Award of the German aviation press for his coverage of Fairchild Dornier’s bankruptcy. He was named the country’s top travel and air transport writer by the Travel Industry Club three times. Jens graduated from the Munich School of Journalism.
British Airways yesterday started talks with unions representing its engineers, trying to reach a pay deal for 2003. The negotiations come only days after the airline reached an agreement with its check-in staff following a costly wildcat strike (DAILY, July 23). The airline offered U.K. residents affected by the strike GBP80 (US$129) in compensation to be used as a reduced airfare. In talks with engineers, "progress was made" according to one union official, and the two sides agreed to meet again tomorrow. -JF
Austrian Airlines wants to cut pilot costs by 35% until 2008 and intends to achieve the reductions through a combination of productivity improvements and other initiatives. The carrier said it hopes to be able to achieve a 10% reduction next year and has entered negotiations with its unions. The Austrian Airlines Group comprises Austrian, Lauda Air and Tyrolean, all of which have widely differing pay schemes. Pilots want a single collective bargaining agreement, but AUA says it cannot afford it. -JF
